Reviews for: Rise & Shine Farm

As a health care professional I see the frustrating effect poor diets can have on us every day. This (and a love of all things delicious) prompted me to seek out and join my local Rise and Shine Farm CSA in 2008. Picking up amazingly fresh vegetables every week and seeing the beautiful healthy land on which they grow has kept me coming back every year since. Local vegetables just taste better. They simply have more flavor to them. It is an incredible change from the stuff I was used to.

I am a one-lady household and I very seldom have to give away what I can't eat to some very grateful friends and relatives. On that same note, it is a lot of produce. It does take time to clean and prep some weeks. Realistically, it doesn't take any more time than I would spend on a trip to the store and back. And again, it tastes infinitely better.

I could say tons more but really my best advice is to go down to the farm and check it out. Talk to our farmers Marta and Doug (and Alex!) and see what it's all about. Ask the members helping out any questions. Our CSA is a pretty awesome thing to be a part of!

We learned so much from the MacFarlands about natural and organic techniques. Even the experience of losing crops to some of the worst growing conditions in recent years helped our family to learn about the risks and benefits of using local produce. By losing familiar crops, we expanded our use and knowledge of unfamiliar- and delicious! - vegetables.

I normally spend about 1/3rd of my shopping budget on produce each week. I estimate that the CSA cut these costs by about 30-50%. Using drying and freezing, we are still using produce from this summer in March, and my produce bill remains low; I estimate that overall we will have saved on the order of $400-500 in produce costs. On top of that, the taste and nutritional quality of what we are cooking is far superior to even the best quality store-bought produce.

The time commitment had direct benefits in involving our whole family in growing, harvesting, preparing and eating the food together.

One of the best things about being a Rise & Shine CSA member was bringing my son (age 3) to the farm, so he could see where some of our food comes from. One day he and I picked almost an entire row of carrots! I love the concept of directly supporting a local farmer -- and that the produce we eat is grown within a mile of our house.

We say "we worked the farm today" when in fact all we did was help pull some weeds or maybe harvest some carrots and onions. Even that little amount of exposure to the "farming experience" is enough to drive home the point that it's wicked hard work, farming, and that a close connection to the earth is a strong reminder of God's abundance.

This little farm has a big heart and an ambitious agenda. Pray for the right amount of rain at the right time, and lend a hand. It really is for your own good.

Rise and Shine Farm allowed me to enjoy the taste of vegetables straight from the soil. I particularly liked pick up in the field because I could see what was going on. Even in one of the hardest season for farming there were surprises and delights. This was a yummy experience.

Linda O'Callahan, Marshfield MA

When longtime friends Doug and Marta dove into Rise and Shine Farm a year ago; we became members to support them; but knew very little about CSA. We are so glad we joined; each week we retrieved a large bag of produce; some of which was often new to us. (Truth is, we made up some of our own names for a few of the greens including "the one that looks like the robot thing from "The Incredibles".) We found ourselves in the kitchen more; a good thing in our busy lives. Knowing where our food is coming from makes a huge difference; tastes better, feels better. Our freezer still contains soups and herbs that bring color to the grayest of winter days. We look forward to the coming season.

Doug and Marta have done a fabulous job in turning an empty field into a real working farm. They have knocked themselves out this year, and despite the awful weather we have had, they have managed to turn out some great produce! They deserve credit for working all hours of the day and night so that some lucky shareholders can get produce most of us have never heard of! Keep up the great work!

Doug and Marta have done a fabulous job in turning an empty field into a real working farm. They have knocked themselves out this year, and despite the awful weather we have had, they have managed to turn out some great produce! They deserve credit for working all hours of the day and night so that some lucky shareholders can get produce most of us have never heard of! Keep up the great work!